Mould stripping machine



Sept. 10, 1 963 G. JOLY MOULD \STRIPPING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledJuly 1, 1960 Sept. 10, 1963 G. JOLY 3,103,044

MOULD STRIPPING MACHINE Filed July 1, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 UnitedStates Patent 3,103,044 MOULD STRIPPING MACHINE Gabriel Joly, 3 RueGallieni, Boulogne, France Filed July 1, 1960, Ser. No. 40,217 Claimspriority, application France July 9, 1959 3 Claims. (Cl. 2234) Theinvention relates to foundry stripping i.e. to the separation of themoulded pieces from the sand and from the flask, and mainly relates tothe stripping of the moulds poured on the conveyor.

Stripping machines are already known which comprise a conveyor and alifting and transporting device suitably articulated and controlled soas to lift the flask from the conveyor and impart to it a movement ofvertical com.- ponent, and so as to give the flask a curved trajectory,preferably approximately circular, between the point at which liftingoccurs as the conveyor approaches the device and the point where theflask is set down as the conveyo-r (leaves the device, this trajectorypassing through the stripping station.

The object of the invention is an installation of this type wherein thestripping station can be kept outside the closed trajectory of theconveyor and at a considerable distance from the conveyor.

In order to achieve this object the machine according to the inventionis characterised in that the lifting and transporting device is a deviceturning, in a manner known per se, about a vertical axis of rotation,and in that the axis or rotation is arranged in such a manner that thestripping station can be disposed outside the closed trajectory of theconveyor.

Although the said lifting and transporting device can be used incombination with any stripping device compatible with the fact that theflask, during stripping, stays held and supported by the lifting andtransporting device (stripping by piston, or by shaking), theinstallation according to the invention preferably comprises a newdevice permitting stripping of the flask by shock, the flask remainingheld and supported by the lifting and stripping device.

Once it is possible to provide a rapid performance of the strippingapparatus allowing the delivery from the conveyor to be increased,according to a development of the inventive idea a movement can beimparted to the lifting and transporting device whose upwards anddownwards movement will be equal to the delivery from the conveyor, andit will be possible to control this movement, as a function of thisdelivery, by the flasks themselves.

The invention is hereinafter further described, reference being made tothe accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view of an apparatus according tothe invention.

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of the machine shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURES 3 to 7 are diagrams explaining the functioning of part of theapparatus.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, 1 indicates thedriving assembly of the installation it being possible for the drivemotor to be electric, hydraulic and pneumatic; said drive motor issubject only to the condition that it can impart a rotary movement tothe shaft 2 of the installation. Conventional means are provided for, onthe one hand, stopping the motor after it has rotated for one quarter ofa revolution and, on the other hand, for starting up the motor when aflask 3 reaches a determined position; the starting up of the motor canbe triggered-off either by the member of the conveyor carrying the flaskor by the flask itself. In the drawings 4 indicates, by way of example,the position of a photoelectric cell which controls an electric contactseries- "ice connected in the feed circuit (not shown) of the motor. 5designates the conveyor, and 6 the platform of the station. The shaft 2whose vertical axis meets the horizontal displacement axis of theconveyor-carries a support frame 7 and the whole assembly is shown assupported by a main frame 8; conventional supplementary means (notshown) can be provided for holding the shaft 2 and the support frame 7.

According to the invention the support frame 7 carries 4 groups ofarticulated arms 9, 9", 10, 10*, 11, 11, 12, 12. These groups aredistributed about the axis of the shaft 2 at an angle of to one another;the arms can each freely pivot about a horizontal spindle mounted on thesupport frame 7'.

Each of these arms are similarly cranked or angled, the angled partbeing indicated by the reference numeral of the relative arm followed bythe letter A. It can be seen that the angle of bending is selected sothat-in the position shown in FIGURE 1 the angled parts (in this case12'A and 10A) are horizontal.

Arranged at the axis of the installation is a horizontal plane cam 13 ofroughly circular shape and having, above the displacement axis of theconveyor, a depression 14 facing in the direction of the conveyor as itapproaches the apparatus and a deeper depression 15 facing in thedirection of the conveyor as it leaves the apparatus or device; this camalso has a nose 16 located a short distance in front of-in the directionof movementthe cam diameter perpendicular to the diameter I14--15. Theportion 17 of the cam between points 1 4 and 15 can have the sameradius; the portion 19 however has a radius which increases from point14 to point 16.

On each of the arms are fixed supporting brackets 20 carrying a roller21 of such height that it can bear on the cam, whatever the inclinationof the arm may be.

Bach flask, such as 3, is provided laterally with two pairs of lugs suchas are shown at 22, 23 arranged at such height that they are slightlyabove the angled part of the arm, in the position of FIGURE 1.

This diagrammatic arrangement does not preclude any special flaskconstruction adapted to a special formation of the arm.

The manner of operation is as follows:

The flasks are transported onto the conveyor from the pouring station,and reach the position of the flask 3; in this position the flask startsup the motor. The arms carried by the frame start their rotationalmovement, and at the same time bear on the cam by way of their rollers.

The roller 20 of the flask 3-which at the commencement of the movementwas located at the depression I14 (FIGURES 2 and 3)-at once climbs on tothe portion 19 of the cam; arms 12, 12' are raised and. consequentlyflask 3 is also raised and lifted up from the conveyor (FIGURE 4). Themovement is continued until the roller reaches the nose 16 of the cam.The roller is then lowered by a certain distance but, in accordance withan auxiliary inventive feature, the ro1lerinstead of falling directly onto the portion 18 of the cam-falls against an anvil 27 (FIGURES 5 and 6)which receives the shock. The shock is all the stronger for the reasonthat, in the course of rolling along the portion 19 of the cam, theroller has caused substantial raising of the arm (FIG- URE 5).Experience has shown that in this way a sufiiciently violent shock canbe obtained to ensure the stripping operation each time. The mouldedpiece and the sand fall on the grating 28 immediately after the shockand the motor, having effected the quarter revolution, stops; the flaskis then in the position 24.

When the next flask is brought by the conveyor into position 3, itcauses the photo-electric cell to act and the motor then starts upagain; the flask located at 24 then shifts, and its roller follows theportion 18 of the cam until it falls into the depression 15 which causesthe angled arms to be lowered and the flask to be set down on theconveyor at 25, the pivotal system at the same time being fixed inposition. The motor stops after this latest revolution until a new flaskoccupies position 3 and, in so doing, starts up the movement again. i

As position 25 is diametrically opposite to position 3, the flask takesup exactly the'same position on the conveyor, always at an equaldistance from the flask previously set down; this arrangement ensuresevery ease in the mechanical recovery of the empty flask.

The stripping operation can evidently be effected in all cases by avertical electric jack working hydraulically or pneumatically andcontrolled by the rotation of the apparatus, or by any other device.

If it is neoessary-for the purpose of automatically feeding the mouldingmachines with emptied flasks not to set the latter down on the conveyor,use can of and having an axis of rotation vertically perpendicular tothe longitudinal center line of the conveyor, said flask handlingstructure operable to move mold flasks sequentially from a firstposition on said conveyor to a stripping station, said structure furtheroperable to move the mold flasks from the stripping station to a secondposition on saidconveyor diametrically opposite the first positionwhereby the mold flasks are moved along the same rectilinear path, atleast one flask receiving unit mounted on said structure for raising andlowering the flasks carlied on said conveyor, said flask receiving unitcompris' ing two panallel bell crank levers, each lever having oneextremity articulated on said structure, each lever having a crankedportion opposite said extremity, and a cam fixed to said flask handlingstructure adjacent the cranked portions of said bell crank levers andengageable thereby to guide said cranked portions during the rotatingmovement of said structure.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the profile of said camincludes a nose portion to allow disengagement of said bell crank leverstherefrom when the same have moved flasks from the conveyor to thestripping station, an anvil adjacent said cam, said bell crank leversswingable upon disengagement thereof from said cam and engageableagainst said anvil to impart a shock to mold flasks carried by the bellcrank levers to cause stripping of the molds.

3. Anapparatus for handling mold flasks being carried by a conveyortraveling in a rectilinear path comprising a rotatable flask handlingstructure having an axis of rotation perpendicular to and spaced abovesaid conveyor,

at least one flask receiving unit comprising two parallel bell cranklevers pivotally mounted on said structure, a cam fixed to said flaskhandling structure adjacent said bell crank levers and engageablethereby, portions of said bell cranklevers engageable with a flaskcarried on said conveyor and operable upon rotation of said flaskhandling structure to move a mold flask sequentially from a firstposition on said conveyor to a stripping station,

said stripping station including an anvil, means on said cam to allowdisengagement of said bell crank levers therefrom to cause the same tofall freely on said anvil imparting a shock to a mold flask carried bysaid flask receiving unit, said flask handling structure furtheroperable to move the flask from said stripping station to a secondposition on said conevyor diametrically opposite said first position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. AN APPARATUS INCLUDING A CONTINUOUS CONVEYOR FOR HANDLING MOLD FLASKSBEING TRANSPORTED, SAID CONTINUOUS CONVEYOR TRAVELING ALONG ARECTILINEAR PATH, INCLUDING A ROTATABLE FLASK HANDLING STRUCTURESUPPORTED IN OVERLYING RELATION TO SAID CONVEYOR INTERMEDIATE THE ENDSTHEREOF AND HAVING AN AXIS OF ROTATION VERTICALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THELONGITUDINAL CENTER LINE OF THE CONVEYOR, SAID FLASK HANDLING STRUCTUREOPERABLE TO MOVE MOLD FLASKS SEQUENTIALLY FROM A FIRST POSITION ON SAIDCONVEYOR TO A STRIPPING STATION, SAID STRUCTURE FURTHER OPERABLE TO MOVETHE MOLD FLASKS FROM THE STRIPPING STATION TO A SECOND POSITION ON SAIDCONVEYOR DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE THE FIRST POSITION WHEREBY THE MOLDFLASKS ARE MOVED ALONG THE SAME RECTILINEAR PATH, AT LEAST ONE FLASKRECEIVING UNIT MOUNTED ON SAID STRUCTURE FOR RAISING AND LOWERING THEFLASKS CARRIED ON SAID CONVEYOR, SAID FLASK RECEIVING UNIT COMPRISINGTWO PARALLEL BELL CRANK LEVERS, EACH LEVER HAVING ONE EXTREMITYARTICULATED ON SAID STRUCTURE, EACH LEVER HAVING A CRANKED PORTIONOPPOSITE SAID EXTREMITY, AND A CAM FIXED TO SAID FLASK HANDLINGSTRUCTURE ADJACENT THE CRANKED PORTIONS OF SAID BELL CRANK LEVERS ANDENGAGEABLE THEREBY TO GUIDE SAID CRANKED PORTIONS DURING THE ROTATINGMOVEMENT OF SAID STRUCTURE.